Co-option of an ancestral cloacal regulatory landscape during digit evolution.

ABSTRACT: The fin-to-limb transition in vertebrate evolution has been central to the study of how development underlies evolutionary change. In this context, the functional analysis of Hox gene regulation to infer evolutionary trajectories has been critical to explain the origin of new features. In tetrapods, the transcription of Hoxd genes in developing digits depends on a set of enhancers forming a large regulatory landscape^1,2. The presence of a syntenic counterpart in zebrafish, which lacks digits, suggests deep homology³ or shared developmental foundations underlying distal fin and limbs. However, how this regulatory program evolved has remained unresolved. We genetically evaluated the function of the zebrafish Hoxd regulatory landscapes by comparatively assessing the effe

SUBMITTER: Hintermann A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12675288 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature